Being careful about how you spend your money can earn you a reputation for being frugal, but when the penny-pinching goes too far and money is essentially hoarded, that can be a symptom of obsessive compulsive personality disorder.

The disorder affects about 1 in 100 adults, according to the International OCD Foundation. Frugality is a symptom of obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) when a person "adopts a miserly spending style toward both self and others," notes the American Psychiatric Association. "Money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes."

OCPD, however, is not the same as OCD — obsessive compulsive disorder. However, because the term “OCD” is casually used in situations where people are detail-oriented, it's often confused with OCPD. In fact, they're separate disorders.

“OCD is an illness where people have intrusive thoughts, thoughts that don’t make sense, that are silly to them, but thoughts they can’t get rid of and cause marked anxiety,” says Robert Hudak, MD, a psychiatrist with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania. “People with OCPD are people who are very preoccupied with details, making lists, workaholic, very frugal. People with OCPD do not have intrusive thoughts, so they don’t worry about their symptoms. To them, they wonder, why is everyone else not as organized and as neat as I am?”

When it comes to money, someone with OCD might have difficulty touching it to spend it because of intrusive thoughts about contamination. But Dr. Hudak says that someone with OCPD-related frugality wouldn't be able to spend it because of concerns about being wasteful or being broke in the future. People with OCPD might be so frugal that they'd go to a food pantry or skimp on essentials, even if they had enough money for all they need.

Are You Too Frugal?

There's a difference between being frugal and being overly so.

For instance, “budgeting so that you have enough money left over for an emergency or saving for a goal is healthy,” Hudak says.

During a recession or economic hard times, when tight budgeting is widely admired, it can be tough to know if you’re overdoing it. The most important sign that you’re going too far, he says, is when your frugality negatively affects relationships or the quality of your life because you can’t spend time or money on fun or relaxation.

However, problematic frugality goes beyond money, says Fugen Neziroglu, PhD, director of the Bio Behavioral Institute in New York City and an expert on obsessive compulsive disorders.

“There is a pervasive miserliness," she says. "These people have a hard time being generous with affection or with time." The person might also fear getting rid of certain things because of beliefs about wastefulness.

Further, people who have OCPD are unlikely to see their frugality as a problem. If they come into treatment, it’s usually because someone close to them has insisted on it or because they want help from a professional to achieve their perfectionist goals, according to Hudak.

“What’s key there for the therapist is to help them to recognize that they have to accept imperfections," he says. "That’s done through cognitive behavioral therapy."

How to Treat OCPD

The good news is that obsessive compulsive personality disorder is treatable. It can, though, take a year or more to get it under control, Neziroglu says, depending on how severe the symptoms are.

“Basically you are asking them to change some aspect of their personality,” she says.

Treatment options include:

Motivational interviewing. This is a discussion process that helps identify compelling reasons, like a key relationship, to make a change.

Cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of therapy focuses on identifying negative thoughts and behaviors and replacing them with other options.

Anxiety hierarchy. For someone who is excessively frugal, an anxiety hierarchy might outline steps toward change. For example, a person might find buying a needed stapler less anxiety-inducing than a more expensive (but still needed) appliance, and so would work up from there.

Medication. Prescription medications might help people with OCPD if they also have depression, Hudak says.

One goal of therapy could be to help a frugal person understand his or her effect on other people. But because people with OCPD might not believe they need therapy, Hudak says he also advises family members to seek therapy for themselves to learn how to cope with the relative's frugal ways.